Tuesday, 13 September 2016

The Peak District Hills :: Number Two

having worked the weekend I had a day off today. This coincided with one of Eldest's days off College...3 days a week is full time apparently. Lucky him.

I feel lucky that he actually likes walking and was happy to go on a little adventure with me.

You may remember THIS post and my challenge to myself to walk some (or maybe all) of the hills over 1,000 feet above sea level in the peak district. There's a great list of the 27 hills in question HERE.

At 1,214ft Minninglow was on the list and not too far from home for us to visit.

I found THIS walk , and we set off with plenty of water and sun hats as the weather was forecast to be HOT.

We were soon walking along the High Peak trail and gazing at Minniglow hill in the distance...it's the bump with trees on top you can see in this photo........

I like to walk quickly but Eldest is generally in front of me. Probably because I take too many pictures :0)

I loved the wild scabious that grew along the side of the track.........

and of course I loved the dry stone walls......

Any shade was very welcome......

When the trail was a railway line ( before the 1960's) quarries like this one were in operation .......

Now there are no noisy trains or machinery, just space and quiet...we both commented on how quiet it was. Just a little birdsong and no road noise. Bliss.........

This is where we left the trail to climb up to the top of Minninglow .

Public access is via a concessionary path, which has only been open for less than a decade I think.

Hello Sheep, don't mind us.......

There were large flocks of tiny finches in this field....

and the rocky outcrops looked a bit like ruined buildings, from long ago.......

nearly at the top.......

but don't forget to turn around and admire the view...wow, this is why I love hills :0).....

We did smile at the sheep, who were all marching across the fields in single file.

Soon we were up close to the impressive trees, which give this site it's distinctive appearance, so easily spotted from many distant directions.......

There is a Bronze age round barrow and Neolithic burial chambers within the outer circle of smaller trees........

Some work was underway to create a path here, but my boy thought it made a great balance beam :0)

Let's just look at the view in the other direction I say, so we do........

Then he's off again.........

One more picture, I zoom in on the horizon.....

Gosh it was hot, I don't often brave shorts, but today I was very glad I had........

Uh, oh. A sign that makes walkers nervous.......

Thankfully we never saw the bull in the field that led to this tunnel...........

or the beautiful valley that lay beyond it.......

We climbed the stile to leave the Bovine danger zone.........

and entered the holey danger zone....

but we didn't see any of those either.

I loved this view.........

And this view......

The building turned out to be a Victorian pump house, once used by the Quarries in the area.

We are always careful to close any gates we open.........

The lanes were very quiet and soon Minnglow was looking small in the distance..........

The sheep were looking for shade and I spotted a little Autumn colour........

It was midday and getting really hot as we walked up this lane. Eldest chats a lot, bless him. Here he was asking me if I would ever climb Mount Everest :0) Maybe he was trying to think cold thoughts to combat the heat.........

More finches darted about and perched on the walls........I think they are juvenile Goldfinch

there are 3 in this photo

From the high point of this track the walk description promised views in all directions...ummm...

It Also said you could see Kinder Scout ( Highest hill in the Peak District) on a good day...well this was a good day...so that must be Kinder, I think..........

We turned right and started to head back downhill, mercifully there was a lovely breeze here.....

and some bits of shade........

soon we rejoined the trail, with it's stunning views. Oh look Holiday cottages on a working farm. Lovely........

WONDERFUL views. I'd go just for the prehistoric remains, but it's good to notch another one up in your tally of hills ascended! Very impressed by the shots of the finches; birds never stay still long enough for me... And what is it with farmers and bulls? If bulls are dangerous, surely they shouldn't be in fields that the public have access to? Does putting a sign out give farmers some kind of cop out in the event that some poor rambler is gored or trampled on? Grr. Great post, as always.

Good morning Jacquie, what a wonderful walk you and your son had. I live in New York and I am wondering what a concessionary path is? Also, my uncle had a farm and when we were growing up he had a bull that was just a bit on the testy side and we were all as kids chased by that bull on more than one occasion and I probably would have turned around and gone back rather than walk that field. You and your son were very brave. Cathy

A fabulous hill to "bag"! Thanks for sharing. I'm hoping to be up to a hike this fall the campus where the youngest attends is huge with lots of nature trails and wildlife. (One of the photos on flickr of all the deer is taken there.)